The mucosal membrane is a protective layer responsible for trapping pathogens in the human body. The mucosal membrane is an easily accessible and highly clinically relevant sample to diagnose pathogenic and cancerous associated diseases.
It is known to use medical swabs as a standard collection device for mucosal membranes.
Conventionally, the swab is placed into a sterile tube containing a buffer solution for storage and then the tube is sent to a laboratory for analysis. A laboratory receiving the tube will wipe the smear content across a culture medium such as an agar plate. The culture medium is then incubated to allow organisms present on the swab to grow.
Microbial identification may then be performed, e.g., under a microscope. Any organisms present in the sample may also be identified by 16S gene-sequencing and/or by using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation (“MALDI”) mass spectrometry and then comparing the mass spectra with a commercial available database.
Although easy to handle, the current approach to the analysis of medical swabs for diagnostic purposes is culture-dependent and involves a time consuming and costly workflow. Diagnosis of diseases, such as infections or dysbiosis, and appropriate treatment is therefore associated with considerable delay. Furthermore, around 95% of bacteria cannot be cultured for analysis.
It is therefore desired to provide an improved method for mucosal analysis, e.g., diagnosis.